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Southwestern wrestlers look to bright future
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By Staff Reports
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 | 1 comment(s)
While prep and college basketball fans prepare for the tournament season this time of year, Southwestern Oregon Community College wrestling coach Adam Whitlatch also looks forward to the end of winter, but for a different reason.
“I’m getting geared up for a little different March Madness,” Whitlatch said.
Whitlatch recently saw his Lakers take 24th place at the NJCAA national tournament in Minnesota, and now he’s following the work of several former Lakers who have gone on to four-year schools.
“To me, that’s what it’s all about here — getting these kids prepared for school and life and wrestling and sending them on to (four-year) schools,” Whitlatch said. “It’s fun to watch them go on and have success and hear about that and be able to follow them doing that.”
Whitlatch was pleased with how his own team ended the season.
“We had a lot of kids redshirt this year, and we struggled early,” he said. “But we came back at the end of the season.”
First, the Lakers finished second at the regional tournament, which was not expected.
Then freshman Zolboo Enkhbayar earned All-American honors by finishing seventh at the national meet and several teammates also won matches at the national event.
“We got to the national tournament and we wrestled real well,” Whitlatch said.
Enkhbayar, a native of Mongolia, finished seventh in the 157-pound weight class and is going to keep improving, Whitlatch said.
“He knows he can be a lot better,” Whitlatch said. “He had never wrestled collegiate style before.
“He had just done freestyle wrestling. It’s a big change to switch to collegiate. He’s had to really adjust to this level. The mentality is different.”
Enkhbayar’s father was an Olympic standout and Whitlatch thinks his future is bright, too.
“He’s as good as these guys and he’s just starting to adjust to this style,” the coach said. “He’s got some good kids around him to train with.”
One of his sparring partners in practice is Zach Pagnotta, who finished fifth at the national meet a year ago, but redshirted this year.
“We’ve got some kids looking to win it next year,” Whitlatch said.
Enkhbayar was Southwestern’s only All-American this winter, though two others came close.
Heavyweight Ryan Hoover won two matches, but was injured while he was leading a match in the consolation rounds and ended up losing 13-11 to the wrestler, who rallied to finish fourth in the tournament.
“He was beating the kid easily until he got hurt,” Whitlatch said.
David Laird won three matches at 174 pounds and was eliminated one round from placing. He was trailing by one point late in the final period when he was pinned.
Joseph Michel, a returning All-American, had two pins in the 141-pound bracket, but then lost before the placing rounds. That was perhaps the toughest weight class of the bunch, Whitlatch said. A North Idaho wrestler who also was an All-American in 2007, failed to place in the division.
The Lakers lose just a couple wrestlers this year, which means the team could do even better next year.
Meanwhile, Whitlatch would like to see the kids who finish their careers at Southwestern continue wrestling at other schools.
One of last year’s Southwestern standouts, Richie Zuniga, now wrestles at Lindenwood, an NAIA school in Missouri that won the national tournament. Zuniga finished one match from placing and lost to the national champion and the grappler who took fourth.
This week, Josh Williams, another standout from last year’s squad, competes at the Division II national tournament after finishing second in his conference meet for St. Cloud State in Minnesota.
Dustin Rogers, Southwestern’s only national champion, will compete in the NCAA Division I meet for the second straight year for West Virginia. He just missed placing last year.
Ben Harris placed seventh in the Pac-10 meet for Oregon State University, while Cody Bender wrestled on and off in the lineup for Pac-10 champion Boise State, though he didn’t compete in the Pac-10 tournament.
Gary Reid competed for Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, but didn’t advance to the national meet. Greg Kelley and Justin Eldred both wrestled for Sioux Falls, an NAIA school.
“For me, this time is really cool to watch,” Whitlatch said. “We have so many guys wrestling at different levels.”
He’s particularly proud of Rogers, Harris and Bender.
“It’s hard to get kids into Division I, and having three kids compete at that level, that says a lot for what we’ve been doing here,” Whitlatch said.
“I’m getting geared up for a little different March Madness,” Whitlatch said.
Whitlatch recently saw his Lakers take 24th place at the NJCAA national tournament in Minnesota, and now he’s following the work of several former Lakers who have gone on to four-year schools.
“To me, that’s what it’s all about here — getting these kids prepared for school and life and wrestling and sending them on to (four-year) schools,” Whitlatch said. “It’s fun to watch them go on and have success and hear about that and be able to follow them doing that.”
Whitlatch was pleased with how his own team ended the season.
“We had a lot of kids redshirt this year, and we struggled early,” he said. “But we came back at the end of the season.”
First, the Lakers finished second at the regional tournament, which was not expected.
Then freshman Zolboo Enkhbayar earned All-American honors by finishing seventh at the national meet and several teammates also won matches at the national event.
“We got to the national tournament and we wrestled real well,” Whitlatch said.
Enkhbayar, a native of Mongolia, finished seventh in the 157-pound weight class and is going to keep improving, Whitlatch said.
“He knows he can be a lot better,” Whitlatch said. “He had never wrestled collegiate style before.
“He had just done freestyle wrestling. It’s a big change to switch to collegiate. He’s had to really adjust to this level. The mentality is different.”
Enkhbayar’s father was an Olympic standout and Whitlatch thinks his future is bright, too.
“He’s as good as these guys and he’s just starting to adjust to this style,” the coach said. “He’s got some good kids around him to train with.”
One of his sparring partners in practice is Zach Pagnotta, who finished fifth at the national meet a year ago, but redshirted this year.
“We’ve got some kids looking to win it next year,” Whitlatch said.
Enkhbayar was Southwestern’s only All-American this winter, though two others came close.
Heavyweight Ryan Hoover won two matches, but was injured while he was leading a match in the consolation rounds and ended up losing 13-11 to the wrestler, who rallied to finish fourth in the tournament.
“He was beating the kid easily until he got hurt,” Whitlatch said.
David Laird won three matches at 174 pounds and was eliminated one round from placing. He was trailing by one point late in the final period when he was pinned.
Joseph Michel, a returning All-American, had two pins in the 141-pound bracket, but then lost before the placing rounds. That was perhaps the toughest weight class of the bunch, Whitlatch said. A North Idaho wrestler who also was an All-American in 2007, failed to place in the division.
The Lakers lose just a couple wrestlers this year, which means the team could do even better next year.
Meanwhile, Whitlatch would like to see the kids who finish their careers at Southwestern continue wrestling at other schools.
One of last year’s Southwestern standouts, Richie Zuniga, now wrestles at Lindenwood, an NAIA school in Missouri that won the national tournament. Zuniga finished one match from placing and lost to the national champion and the grappler who took fourth.
This week, Josh Williams, another standout from last year’s squad, competes at the Division II national tournament after finishing second in his conference meet for St. Cloud State in Minnesota.
Dustin Rogers, Southwestern’s only national champion, will compete in the NCAA Division I meet for the second straight year for West Virginia. He just missed placing last year.
Ben Harris placed seventh in the Pac-10 meet for Oregon State University, while Cody Bender wrestled on and off in the lineup for Pac-10 champion Boise State, though he didn’t compete in the Pac-10 tournament.
Gary Reid competed for Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, but didn’t advance to the national meet. Greg Kelley and Justin Eldred both wrestled for Sioux Falls, an NAIA school.
“For me, this time is really cool to watch,” Whitlatch said. “We have so many guys wrestling at different levels.”
He’s particularly proud of Rogers, Harris and Bender.
“It’s hard to get kids into Division I, and having three kids compete at that level, that says a lot for what we’ve been doing here,” Whitlatch said.
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